F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Dennis: McLaren in no rush to name 2017 line up

Ron Dennis says McLaren will not name its 2017 driver pairing before at least the month of September, adding “it is just too early” to address the topic right now.

The team currently has world champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button under contract, with 2015 GP2 Series winner Stoffel Vandoorne serving as the official reserve driver.

While the Spaniard is locked in a three-year agreement through 2017, the Briton’s deal is up at the end of the current campaign with the Belgian hopeful tipped as his likely replacement for next season.

“We are not even going to talk about drivers until after Monza,” Dennis told Sky Sports News. "We will have a board meeting towards the end of September, which is a logical time to make a decision, but we might not even take one then.

“What we won't do is hamper anyone's career. At the moment we have a young and aspiring driver, two tremendous world champions, and as and when we have to talk about it we will take everything into consideration.

“But right now we are barely halfway through the season. The most inappropriate thing we could possibly do is start talking about decisions like that which impact on next year. It's just too early.”

Button previously told F1i’s Chris Medland that he was open to another seat next year and has recently drawn interest from his former team Williams.

Technical analysis - Baku

Scene at the Grand Prix of Europe

Grand Prix of Europe - Driver ratings

Breakfast with ... Derek Daly

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

Sebastian Montoya steps up to Formula 2 with Prema

Sebastian Montoya, the 19-year-old son of former Formula 1 star Juan Pablo Montoya, is set…

10 hours ago

Sauber finds its ‘Northern Star’ under Binotto’s leadership

When former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto took on the role of Chief Operating Officer…

12 hours ago

Leclerc hails a season ‘without missed opportunities' in 2024

Charles Leclerc concluded the 2024 F1 season with a sense of satisfaction, the Ferrari driver…

13 hours ago

Coulthard sounds alarm over FIA president’s rift with F1 drivers

Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has voiced his dismay at FIA president Mohammed Ben…

15 hours ago

The rapid rise and fall of Super Aguri in F1

Super Aguri's application to join Formula 1 became a reality on this day in 2005,…

16 hours ago

Ferrari's 2024 Season: Marked improvement and a fight to the finish

Ferrari roared back into contention in 2024 to deliver their strongest season in years, thanks…

17 hours ago